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Welcome to Breakthroughs

Hello! Welcome to Breakthroughs, a site devoted to sharing with you the latest, greatest advancements from the College of Science at Oregon State University. From breakthroughs in research to transformational philanthropy to interesting tidbits from the daily life of the College, we'll post frequently to keep you up-to-date. Please visit often and absolutely let us know what you might like to learn more about. Enjoy, and of course, GO BEAVS!

Sometime later this year, the director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University will cross over a threshold he’s been working toward for nearly 15 years.

It’s a literal threshold: One day soon, Balz Frei will walk into the Linus Pauling Science Center, the new home for the institute, and “we will have for the first time everybody in the institute under a single roof.”

Doctors do not know for sure what causes ALS. They don’t know how to slow its progression. They certainly don’t know how to cure it. Researchers debate among themselves and trade theories in science literature. Dedicated doctors, nurses, therapists, aides and especially family members work to reduce suffering and treat symptoms, but the disease is debilitating, progressive and terminal.

Gayle Orner at Oregon State University in Corvallis added the carcinogens dibenzopyrene (DBP) or aflatoxin to the feed of trout for one month, with or without the food dyes Red 40 – one of six recently linked to hyperactivity in children – or Blue 2.

Nine months later, trout that had been fed either of the dyes in combination with aflatoxin had 50 per cent fewer liver tumours, compared with those that had been exposed to aflatoxin alone.